Self-Advocacy

Self-advocacy means speaking up for yourself about your rights. It means speaking up about how you want to live your life, about making choices for yourself and about having equal rights.

As a self-advocate you can:

Act alone, or with others to be a strong voice for your rights.

Work together with other self-advocates to talk about things that are important to you

Tell people (groups, schools, employers) about what can be done to make your world a better place to live

Tell government about what they can do to help make life better for people with a disability

How NBACL Supports Self-Advocates

We offer information such as books, videos, and online resources on topics that are important to you

We can help connect you with local groups for support

We share important information about community living

We work in an advisory role in partnership with NB People First

We offer guidelines on how to include self-advocates in decision making

NB People First

NB People First is a group of self-advocates who have been labeled with a disability (NB People First is not a part of NBACL, but we do support this group as requested.)

The mission of NB People First is to support people with a disability to speak for themselves. They also support people who have been labeled with a disability to have the opportunity to speak out and be heard.

Here are some things that NB People First does:

Protect the voice of the people

Act on what people say

Talk about important issues

Bring people together so that they can help each other

The Goals of NB People First are:

To be as independent as possible in their homes, jobs and recreation

To teach the public that people with a disability are people first

To live, work and contribute in our own communities

To have the same rights as people who do not have a disability

If you are a person who has been labeled with a disability, you can become a member at your local chapter (a “chapter” is the NB People First group in your community).

NB People First is lead by self-advocates with the support of a provincial advisor (an advisor is someone who helps People First organize meetings and to carry out their goals.)

NB People First Contact
Normand Robichaud, NB People First Provincial Advisor
Email: nb_robichaud@hotmail.com

Helpful Links to Other Websites

Institution Watch

The official web site of the People First of Canada and Canadian Association for Community Living joint Task Force on Deinstitutionalization.

People First of Canada

The New Brunswick Human Rights Commission

New Brunswick
Human Rights Commission
The Human Rights Commission is a provincial government agency. It promotes equality and investigates and tries to settle complaints of discrimination and harassment. If a complaint cannot be settled, a human rights tribunal can hear the evidence. If it decides that there was discrimination, it can issue orders to correct it.

The Premier’s Council on the Status of Disabled Persons

The Premier's Council on the Status of Disabled Persons is a body for consultation, study and information sharing, which was created to advise the provincial government on matters relating to the status of persons with disabilities. The Council reports directly to the Premier of the Province.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol

Resources You Can Order

Picture This: A Guide to the Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system can be a complex and intimidating system for anyone, including persons with an intellectual disability. Picture This: A Guide to the Criminal Justice System is a handbook to help people who have challenges understanding or communicating to understand the justice system and the services that may be available to them.